Plants and Fungi on ZME Science

Carbon fixation explained: the hidden hero of photosynthesis

A brief explainer of how plants deal with CO2.

The 2024 California Superbloom: Here's everything you need to know

In California, the 2024 Superbloom is shaping up to be a breathtaking display of wildflowers.

The forgotten history of the black locust tree: From vital to invasive to important once more

This tree practically built early America.

Poisonous mushrooms: what you need to know

Edible mushrooms are a delight, but some can be a nightmare. Beware!

Leaf galls: How hijacking plant's hormones can get them to produce weird things

When you take a closer look at the leaves on a tree, you may notice strange growths that seem out of place. These are leaf galls.

Welwitschia mirabilis: A Living Fossil that's worthy of all our admiration

With the rise of the gardening craze, people have been dying to collect the rarest and most beautiful ornamental plants. Being a plant parent certainly requires dedication as some plants are fragile and need carefully maintained conditions to thrive. This is the complete opposite of Welwitschia mirabilis, a remarkably long-lived plant that is low-maintenance. It […]

Tropical plants you can grow at home: bringing the exotic into your living room

Growing some tropical plants in your home's garden or indoors is not all that hard as most people think.

Jabuticaba, the grape tree: A hidden wonder of the Amazon rainforest

The Jabuticaba tree is unique for bearing fruit directly on its trunk and older branches.

7 potted plants that will remove indoor air pollution from your home, proven by science

Plants aren't just for show.

Titan Arum: the titan penis flower

It's big, it's smelly, it's unusual... and it's surprisingly fascinating.

The fastest growing plant in the world

It's easy to overlook duckweed, but this unassuming plant can grow incredibly fast.

The different types of plants in the world

So many different kinds!

How old is the oldest tree?

The oldest tree is between 5,000 and 80,000 years ols, depending on what you consider a 'tree'.

Free phone apps that identify plants from just a picture

It's like Shazam for plants -- you identify plants based on just taking a picture.

Why leaves change color and fall down in autumn, according to experts

When summer draws to an end and autumn creeps in, leaves start changing colors and falling from the trees. But why do the leaves fall down?

Wood Wide Web: The secret, ancient internet of plants

You'll never look at a forest the same way.

Meet the Corpse Flower that steals genes and produces heat to attract flies

When we think of flowers, we tend to think of nice colors, a pleasant fragrance, and maybe some green lushy leaves. But in the deep, thick forests of Southeast Asia, there’s a different type of flower: a colossal bloom, larger than any flower you’ve seen, and stinkier than anything you could imagine. Rafflesia arnoldii is […]

Silphium: the lost ancient world's herbal birth control -- 2,500 years before modern contraceptives

This medicinal plant was so coveted, it was worth its weight in gold. But this ultimately brought its downfall.

What is gympie-gympie: the poisonous plant whose painful sting can last for years and drive people to suicide

Its leaves pack one of the most painful stings in the world. There is no antidote.

The tallest tree in the world is higher than the Statue of Liberty

California's redwood forest has the tallest trees in the world. Let's see why.

What is catnip why do felines go crazy over it

Oils found in catnip makes felines enter a frenzy of delight. No worries, it's non-addictive and harmless.

Is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Why not both?

It depends on whether you ask a botanist or a cook.

The unusual origins of our favorite spices

Have you ever stopped to wonder where black pepper, vanilla, and cloves come from?

It's time to rediscover the forgotten crops of the world

They are tasty, nutritious, and hardy to boot.

Pollination 101: the basics on what it is and why it matters

What's all the buzz?

The rise and fall of hemp -- and how we can make it great again

This humble plant has a long history, and an even longer list of uses.

Yeast and its incredibly important economic role

For something so small, it sure has a big impact.

What did the first trees look like?

Their anatomy was staggeringly complex, like intricate pipe works.

The most expensive fungus in the world: a dead caterpillar that sells for 50,000 USD a pound

It's also known as the "Viagra of the Himalayas".

What is the Venus Flytrap: the complete guide

“This plant, commonly called Venus’ fly-trap,” Darwin wrote in 1875, “is one of the most wonderful in the world.”

What is Poison Oak and why should I stay away from it?

Identify it, understand what it does, and why not -- respect it.

Meet the deadliest tree in the world. It's so dangerous you could die just by standing underneath it

The story of the manchineel -- a tree that grows on the coast of tropical locations -- and why should stay the heck away from it.

Why are plants green?

There's a reason why they aren't black or purple!

How palm trees thrive in Vancouver despite the freezing Canadian weather

Palm trees in Vancouver aren't fake.

How fruits and veggies looked like before we domesticated them

Imagine a banana. The familiar yellow, seedless shape pops to mind, but that’s only how domesticated bananas look like. Before we “molded” and modified the plant, it looked completely different – as you can see below. The first bananas we know of were cultivated in Papua New Guinea, stocky and filled with seeds. By […]

Crown Shyness - Trees can shy away too!

Crown shyness is a phenomenon observed in some tree species, in which the crowns of fully stocked trees do not touch each other, forming a canopy with channel-like gaps.

Skeleton flower turns translucent when it comes in contact with water

This rare flower's petals are usually white, but turn translucent (their "skeleton" form) when exposed to water. Being completely clear and of striking, glass-like beauty while wet, they turn white again when they dry off.

Why some tropical mushrooms glow in the dark

The tropical forests of Northeaster Brazil have their own nightlight: a peculiar mushroom called Neonothopanus gardneri that glows in the dark. Like a street light, it's tuned to activate its bioluminescence only in the dark, first in the twilight then peaking at about 10 PM. Researchers at Dartmouth College in the US and the University of São Paulo in Brazil have now fond out what this strange behavior is all about: 'candy' for insects.

The Heaviest Living Organism in the World

What is the heaviest living creature in the world? It’s not an elephant or a blue whale, the heaviest organism is actually an Aspen. Pando, as it is called, is a clonal colony of a single male quaking aspen; basically, it looks like more trees, but it’s actually just one living creature with one massive underground […]

The largest organism in the world

If you want to know what the biggest organism in the world is, then you’re in for a big surprise – it’s not an elephant or a tree, it’s not even a blue whale! It’s 2 miles across, and you don’t even see most of it – because it’s a mushroom. That’s right, the largest living […]

Meet General Sherman

General Sherman is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California. It is, by volume, the largest single stem tree on Earth. It has a height of 83.8 metres (275 ft), a diameter of 7.7 metres (25 ft), an estimated bole volume of 1,487 cubic metres (52,513 […]